Nov 23, 2018
For episode 47 we speak with Maisie Ganzler of Bon Appétit
Management Company live recorded at the Johns Hopkins 'ChooseFood'
symposium in Baltimore Maryland. Ganzler is Chief Strategy &
Brand Officer at Bon Appétit Management Company, an on-site
restaurant company offering full food-service management to
corporations, universities, museums, and specialty venues. Based in
Palo Alto, CA, the company operates more than 1,000 cafés in 34
states for dozens of marquee clients. Maisie has been instrumental
in shaping the company’s strategic direction. We focus our
discussion on the diverse sustainable initiatives and purchasing
policies Ganzler has implemented in her 25 year career at Bon
Appétit management company.
The "ChooseFood" gathering was a collective effort of the Johns
Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics, the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg
School of Public Health, and the Hopkins Center for a Livable
Future. The goal of the event was to evaluate the broad
reaching ethics of food, and its production. Issues like
Labor, environmental impact, externalities, animal welfare, health
risk factors & new tech were all part of the ethical questions for
food. Maisie was asked to share with the group some of the
impact her work has had, and how the commitments at Bon Appétit
have influenced some vast changes in the foodservice industry.
During our 40 minute discussion we dig deep into a few of the
initiatives Ganzler described in her presentation, including her
1999 initiative "Farm to Fork" that buys meat, vegetables, and
other products within a 150-mile radius of a client. In fact,
(at a national level) at least 20% of Bon Appétit purchases meet
this criteria. You'll hear how of their pioneering
initiatives to reduce food waste, work with small farmers, improve
animal living conditions and ability to influence industrial scale
agriculture to become more conscious & conscientious have evolved a
minimum market entrance for their competitors. For this
innovative company not afraid to draw a line in the sand - a
dedication to ethics is paying off with positive business
results. As you'll hear in my conversation with Maisie,
it's all working for Bon Appétit because... it's all
authentic.
To hear of lessons learned and milestones gained by an industry
leader at Bon Appétit is invaluable for us all. As we're all
consumers of it, we all have equal stake in food. For me,
it's inspiration and hope for what tomorrow can bring if/when we
embrace 'business ethics' as a core competency in how we decide to
vote for what we believe in - with our dollars - with our forks.
TUNE-IN.